England tour: Bigger challenge awaits Sai Sudarshan, the IPL newsmaker

Sai Sudarshan, the affable 23-year-old pillar of Gujarat Titans batting, broke quite a few barriers on Friday even as his team failed at the eliminator hurdle of IPL to a rampaging Mumbai Indians. For starters, he became the youngest batter to break the 700-run barrier in a season by bettering captain Shubman Gill’s record but more importantly – served a notice for an entry into the playing XI for England Tests.

 The IPL 2025, which is just two matches away from being done and dusted, have seen an avalanche of batting feats being set up but when it comes to an innings serving as a benchmark of class and maturity in the art of chasing against odds – Sai’s fluent 80 off 51 balls will be right up there. It was a T20 affair at Mullanpur alright, the dew may have made strokeplay a bit easy but the youngster from Tamil Nadu showed why he is arguably the country’s best bet after Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to emerge into an all-format player.

 For the past week, Sai’s call-up in the Test team had invited sporadic criticism as to how he could have been preferred over the more experienced Shreyas Iyer – despite both being acknowledged as essentially white ball players. Only time can tell whether the opening partner of Gill in IPL can prove his doubters wrong but for now, he preferred to play his cards close to his chest about red ball ambitions. ‘’There are a lot of things to improve in my T20 game when I return to it. Meanwhile, it’s been a great honour to get a call-up in the Test side and if I get a chance, I will do my best,’’ said Sai, whose consistency in IPL had earned him a call-up in three ODIs and one T20I so far.

However, Sai admitted to a media query that he now needs to switch gears to the red ball mode and will now wait to hear from BCCI as to when he needs to join the India A side in England for the remaining two unofficial Tests against England Lions. ‘’Initially, I was supposed to leave on June 4, a day after the IPL final but since we couldn’t qualify, I will find out if there is a new travel plan,’’ he said after the eliminator.

 Sai said that he would also be banking on his limited experience with Surrey in County Championship last season on the art of tackling the English conditions. ‘’I think I played seven games so it gave me great experience, to be honest. It improved my batting multiple fold in terms of technique and basics. The most important lesson I have learnt is the basics are the most important thing in batting, so I think it should help me.’’

Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai Indians head coachI have enjoyed his (Sai Sudarshan) batting. I have to be honest, he is a good lefty, plays good cricketing shots, and has a good head on his shoulders. So I am sure he will do well

Meanwhile, Sai’s effort found a new admirer in Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan great and the MI head coach. Commenting on the southpaw’s innings, Mahela said: ‘’I have enjoyed his batting. I have to be honest, he is a good lefty, plays good cricketing shots, and has a good head on his shoulders. So I am sure he will do well.

 He, of course, had a word of caution too: ‘’It will be a challenge in England like we all have done in the past, but I think he will find a way to do what he needs to do in England, and I am pretty sure that he is a very talented cricketer.’’

 The Gill-Sudarshan combination at the top of the order had been the bedrock of Titans’ remarkable run in their first 12 games, while their top three (Jos Buttler at No.3) had scored nearly 70% of their runs. Sai’s total of 759, with six fifties and a century which has all but assured him of the Orange Cap, makes him only the fifth batter to cross 750 runs or more in a season – joining  Virat Kohli (973 runs in 2016), Shubman Gill (890, 2023), Buttler (863 in 2022) and David Warner (848, 2016).

  The next three months, hence, could see Sai Sudarshan turn a new leaf in a short but exciting career!